U.S. patent number 4,911,701 [Application Number 07/160,966] was granted by the patent office on 1990-03-27 for sanitary napkin having elastic shaping means.
This patent grant is currently assigned to McNeil-PPC, Inc.. Invention is credited to Pramod Mavinkurve.
United States Patent |
4,911,701 |
Mavinkurve |
March 27, 1990 |
Sanitary napkin having elastic shaping means
Abstract
Sanitary Napkins are disclosed having elastic means for
providing a greater convex shape to the body-facing portion of the
central absorbent and for enabling adhesive-free placement of the
flaps of a winged napkin embodiment. The elastic means comprise one
or more elastic strips disposed in tension across the transverse
width of the napkin to exert compressive forces on the central
absorbent element and cause the flaps to fold naturally inward on
the undergarment facing side. Also disclosed is a winged napkin
having longitudinally disposed elastic means in one or both wings
to impart a concave shape to the undergarment facing side of the
wings.
Inventors: |
Mavinkurve; Pramod (Dendall
Park, NJ) |
Assignee: |
McNeil-PPC, Inc. (Milltown,
NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
22579231 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/160,966 |
Filed: |
February 26, 1988 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
604/385.25;
604/386; 604/387 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
13/5616 (20130101); A61F 13/476 (20130101); A61F
13/58 (20130101); A61F 2013/49033 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
13/15 (20060101); A61F 13/56 (20060101); A61F
013/16 () |
Field of
Search: |
;604/385.1,382.12,386,397,398,387 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Rosenbaum; C. Fred
Assistant Examiner: Polutta; Mark O.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A sanitary napkin comprising:
(a) an absorbent element having longitudinally extending sides,
transverse ends, a body-facing side covered by a fluid pervious
member, and an undergarment facing side covered by fluid impervious
backing layer, and
(b) an elastic strip disposed in tension transversely across said
absorbent element and affixed to said napkin at at least two points
to impart a convex shape toward the body of the user to said
body-facing side.
2. The sanitary napkin of claim 1 wherein said elastic means is
affixed to said absorbent element of said napkin at two opposing
points on said longitudinally extending sides of said absorbent
element.
3. The sanitary napkin of claim 1 wherein said elastic means is
disposed adjacent said fluid impervious backing layer of said
absorbent element.
4. The sanitary napkin of claim 1 wherein said elastic means is
extended in tension from about 10% to 200% of its original
length.
5. A sanitary napkin comprising:
(a) an absorbent element having longitudinally extending sides,
transverse ends, a body facing side and an undergarment facing
side,
(b) flaps extending laterally from each of said longitudinal sides
of said absorbent element; and
(c) elastic means disposed within at least one of said flaps for
configuring said one of said flaps to fold over on the undergarment
facing side.
6. The sanitary napkin of claim 5 wherein said elastic means
comprises an elastic strip disposed within both flaps.
7. The sanitary napkin of claim 5 wherein said elastic means
comprises an elastic strip disposed laterally from said absorbent
element and affixed at one end at the juncture between said
absorbent element and said one of said flaps, and at the other end
on the periphery of said one of said flaps.
8. The sanitary napkin of claim 6 wherein said elastic means
extends transversely across said absorbent element and is affixed
at a point lying on the periphery of each of said flaps.
9. The sanitary napkin of claim 8 wherein said elastic means is
also affixed at two points lying about on a line of juncture
between said absorbent element and said flaps.
10. The sanitary napkin of claim 9 wherein the portion of said
elastic means extending across said absorbent element is disposed
in tension to compress said absorbent element.
11. A sanitary napkin comprising:
(a) an absorbent element having longitudinally extending sides,
transverse ends, a body facing side and an undergarment facing
side;
(b) flaps extending laterally from each of said longitudinally
sides of said absorbent element;
(c) elastic means disposed within at least one of said flaps for
configuring said one of said flaps to fold over on the undergarment
facing side; and
(d) wherein said elastic means comprises two elastic strips
disposed transversely across a portion of said napkin.
12. The sanitary napkin of claim 11 wherein said elastic strips are
affixed in tension to compress said absorbent element.
13. The sanitary napkin of claim 12 wherein said elastic strips are
disposed on said flaps and affixed in tension for configuring said
flaps over the undergarment facing side of said napkin.
14. A sanitary napkin having a body facing side and an undergarment
facing side comprising:
(a) an absorbent element having longitudinally extending sides and
transverse ends;
(b) flaps extending laterally from each of said longitudinal sides
of said absorbent element; and
(c) an elastic strip disposed longitudinally within at least one of
said flaps for providing a more concave shape to the
undergarment-facing side of said one of said flaps and a convex
shape to the body-facing side of said one of said flaps.
15. The sanitary napkin of claim 14 wherein said elastic means is
disposed within both flaps.
16. The sanitary napkin of claim 15 wherein said elastic means
comprises elastic strips disposed parallel to the longitudinally
extending sides of said absorbent element.
17. A sanitary napkin comprising:
(a) an absorbent element having longitudinally extending sides,
transverse ends, a body-facing side covered by a fluid pervious
member, and an undergarment facing side covered by fluid impervious
backing layer; and
(b) elastic means disposed in tension transversely across said
absorbent element and affixed to said napkin at at least two points
to impart a convex shape to said body-facing side; and
(c) flaps extending laterally from each of said longitudinally
extending sides of said absorbent element.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to protective, absorbent liners for
undergarments and more particularly, to a method for shaping
sanitary napkins to fold side panels around the edges of a crotch
portion of a panty and to configure the central absorbent.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditionally, sanitary napkins have included a central absorbent
element having a body facing side, a garment facing side,
longitudinally extending sides and transverse ends. These napkins
generally include an absorbent core made of loosely associated
hydrophilic materials such as wood pulp, as generally known in the
art. This core can be easily deformed under a relatively nominal
compressive force, resulting in surface distortion and loss of good
body contact.
In an effort to overcome the loss of protection due to the lack of
close contact with the body of the wearer, the art has introduced
absorbent products having elastic members disposed longitudinally,
along the sides of the product, to create raised edge portions
adjacent the central absorbent area to act as barriers against
lateral leakage. See McFarland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,556; Widlund,
et al., EPO No. 0091412, filed March 17, 1983; and Mokry, EPO No.
0155515, filed Feb. 2, 1985. Although not related to sanitary
napkins, Shikata, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,102, discloses a
disposable diaper having crotch tensioning means disposed to impose
outward lateral tension on the crotch portion of the diaper when in
use. The object of the tensioning means is to improve the aesthetic
fit on the wearer and improve containment of voided materials.
Recent napkin designs address the side edge leakage problem by
including side panels, flaps or wings that extend laterally from
the longitudinal sides of the central absorbent. See Mattingly,
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,047, McNair, U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,343. These
products are designed to protect the undergarments of their users
by wrapping around the edge of undergarment. The flaps preferably
have adhesive disposed on their body fluid impervious surfaces for
attaching them to the underside surface of the crotch portion of
the garments.
Accordingly, a need exists for a sanitary napkin that maintains
close contact with the body of the wearer during normal use. There
is also a need for a sanitary napkin having panty protecting flaps
which can be adhered to and removed from the panty more
conveniently.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A sanitary napkin is provided having elastic means for configuring
the napkin. In one embodiment, the elastic means of this invention
is disposed transversely across the width of the central absorbent
to impart a more convex shape to the napkin's body facing side. In
a second embodiment, the eleastic means is disposed within the
flaps of a winged sanitary napkin for configuring the flaps to fold
naturally around the sides of the crotch portion of an
undergarment. Preferably the elastic means of this invention is
disposed in tension and exerts a compressive force on specific
sections of the napkin.
When the elastic means of this invention is disposed in the flaps
to fold them over the sides of the panty crotch, the adhesive
means, conventionally applied to the flaps, can be eliminated. The
advantage of this construction is that the user does not have to
adhesively attach the flaps to the undergarment or experience the
attendant inconvenience in order to assure correct positioning of
the flaps. In the preferred design, the flaps are preformed to wrap
around the panty by the addition of elastic strips which can be
stretched and secured without adhesive to adapt to various panty
sizes.
In addition to the above features, the sanitary napkin of this
invention provides for greatly facilitated removal after use.
Present winged sanitary napkins require the user to face each flap
by separating the adhesive from the underside of the crotch before
removing the napkin from the panty crotch area. With the improved
design of this invention, the user is not required to separate the
flaps from the undergarment since the wings, by virtue of elastic
elements, will stretch and release themselves as the user removes
the napkin. It is further noted that the above improvements can be
used in combination or separately to provide improved fit and/or
convenient application of flaps.
it is generally known that the thin polyethylene sheets of
conventional flaps are easily folded by the often elasticized
undergarment. In an effort to overcome this deficiency in winged
napkin designs, this invention also contemplates providing the
flaps of a winged sanitary napkin with longitudinally disposed
elastic means for providing a convex configuration to the
body-facing side of the flaps. This design enables the flaps to
resist being folded over by the undergarment when the undergarment
is pulled up against the wearer.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a winged
sanitary napkin that is easier to remove after use.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sanitary napkin
that creates a naturally convex shape of the central absorbent for
a closer fit to the body of the wearer.
it is still another object of this invention to provide a winged
sanitary napkin having elastic means in the flap or wing area to
provide a configuration which enables an adhesive-free placement of
the flaps around the sides of the crotch portion of the panty.
With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent to
one skilled in the art as the description proceeds, this invention
resides in the novel construction, combination, arrangement of
parts and methods substantially as hereinafter described and more
particularly defined in the attached claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1: is a planar view of the undergarment facing side of a
winged sanitary napkin illustrating a partially segmented view of
one elastic means and the resulting configuration of one flap;
FIG. 2: is a planar view of the undergarment facing side of another
winged sanitary napkin illustrating a partially segmented view of
an elastic means disposed substantially within the flap
members;
FIG. 3: is a top planar view of another sanitary napkin
illustrating a partially segmented view of elastic means for
configuring the central absorbent core of the napkin;
FIG. 4: is a transverse end view of the napkin of FIG. 2
illustrating the resulting configuration of the flaps;
FIG. 5: is a transverse end view of the napkin of FIG. 3
illustrating the resulting configuration of the central absorbent;
and
FIG. 6: is a planar view of the undergarment facing side of a
winged sanitary napkin illustrating a partially segmented view of
elastic means disposed longitudinally within each flap member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
With reference to the drawings, and particularly FIGS. 1-3 thereof,
there are shown preferred sanitary napkins 100, 200 and 300 having
elastic means disposed therein for providing a more convex shape to
the body-facing side and/or for configuring the flaps to fold over
a side of a crotch portion of an undergarment.
With respect to FIGS. 3 and 5, a sanitary napkin 300 is provided
having an absorbent element 206 including longitudinally extending
sides 220, transverse ends 215, a body-facing side 250, and an
undergarment facing side 260. This napkin 300 is provided with
elastic means, depicted as elastic strips 225 and 230, disposed in
tension transversely across the absorbent element 206 and affixed
to the napkin 300 for providing a more convex shape for the
body-facing side 250. In the preferred embodiment of this
configuration, the eleastic means is affixed across the absorbent
element 106 at two opposing points, illustrated by napkin locations
235 and 240, on the longitudinally extending sides 220 of the
napkin. In a more preferred embodiment, the elastic means is
disposed adjacent a fluid impervious backing layer of the napkin to
assure a tensioning force that will produce a more convex shape to
the body facing side of the napkin.
In the embodiments as described by FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, sanitary
napkins 100 and 200 are provided with elastic means within at least
one of their flaps 10 and 119 for configuring the flap to fold over
a side of a crotch portion of an undergarment. As described in FIG.
1, one of these napkin embodiments preferably has elastic means,
illustrated as elastic strips 30 and 35, disposed within both flaps
10. In this embodiment, the elastic means is disposed transversely
across the absorbent element 6 and affixed to each of the flaps 10.
Preferably, the elastic means is affixed at two points lying on a
line of juncture between the absorbent element 6 and the flaps 10.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, these points are represented by napkin
locations 40 and 45. The elastic means is preferably disposed in
tension, as similarly described for the embodiment of FIG. 3, to
compress the absorbent element 6.
The napkin embodiment 200 as depicted in FIG. 2, includes elastic
strips 105 and 110 disposed within at least one of its flaps 119.
The strips 105 and 110 are preferably affixed at one end at a point
of juncture between the absorbent element 106 and said one of the
flaps 119 and at the other end at a point lying on the periphery of
the flap. Preferably, elastic strips 105 and 110 are disposed in
tension within both of flaps 119 and affixed at points 115 and
120.
The elastic strips 30, 35, 105, 110, 225 and 230 of the
above-described napkin embodiments 100, 200 and 300, are preferably
stretched about 10% to 200% of their original length, preferably
about 160% when secured to the napkin. Preferably, the elastic
strips are positioned adjacent the fluid barrier surface and the
tissue layer, pulp and body-fluid pervious surface are placed over
the elastic strips before sealing. If desired, the elastic strips
may be secured to the fluid barrier surface along their entire
length by continuous or intermittent bonding in order to assure the
application of uniform tension and avoid bunching of the barrier
surface.
The absorbent elements 6, 106, and 206 of this invention, as
illustrated in FIG. 1-3, should be made of soft, comfortable
material. Preferably these elements are cut into an "hour glass
shape", when flaps are employed, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Adequate absorbency may be built into the core of the absorbents
without adding bulk, by adding conventional super-absorbent
materials such as a cross-linked acrylate polymer, which have the
properties of high-liquid retention.
Generally the central absorbent elements 6, 106, and 206 are about
4-10 inches in length, preferably about 6-9 inches and comprise a
core which preferably is made of loosely associated absorbent
hydrophilic material such as cellulose fibers, wood pulp,
regenerated cellulose or cotton fibers, and/or other absorbent
materials generally known in the art.
the side of the napkin to worn against the body of the user is
covered by body-fluid pervious surfaces 130 and 250 which can be
any resilient, relatively non-absorbing fluid pervious material.
This material is provided for comfort and conformability and
directs fluid to an underlying layer, for example, wood pulp, which
retains such fluid. The cover should retain little or no fluid in
its structure to provide a relatively dry surface next to the skin.
Generally, the fluid permeable surfaces 130 and 250 are a single,
rectangular sheet of material having a width sufficient to cover
the body-facing side of the absorbent elements 6, 106 and 206.
Preferably, the fluid pervious surfaces 130 and 250 are longer than
the core so as to form end tabs, which may be sealed with other
pervious or non-pervious layers to fully enclose the cores. The
fluid pervious surfaces 130 and 250 are preferably a nonwoven
fabric made of fibers or filaments of thermoplastic polymers such
as polyethylene or polypropylene, or an apertured polymeric
film.
Underlying the core of the absorbent elements 6, 106, and 206 can
be another layer of absorbent material to provide additional
resiliency to the product. This additional layer can extend beyond
the longitudinal sides of the absorbent core to entrap any body
fluid which escapes from the sides of the absorbent elements 6, 106
and 206. This layer may be substantially wider than the core of the
central absorbents 6, 106, and 206, and may extend into the flaps
of a winged napkin configuration 100, 200 and 600. The absorbent
layer may comprise a thin, absorbent layer of material such as a
tissue, fabric or the like, made of cellulosic fibers. Because such
material is provided as a safety measure and is only required to
contain escape fluid, it need not be very absorbent at all and, in
fact, may be comprised of any capillary or cellular system
including hydrophobic material. however, the preferred material is
a hydrophilic fabric comprised of cellulosic fibers such as wood
pulp tissue or other suitable hydrophilic woven or non-woven
material. The preferred tissue has the advantage of providing
resiliency and conformability to the product.
The sanitary napkins 100, 200, 300 and 600 of this invention
further include body-fluid impervious surfaces 140 and 260 on the
undergarment-facing side of the absorbent elements 6, 106, and 206.
The impervious surfaces 140 and 260 will preferably allow the
passage of air and moisture vapor while blocking the passage of
fluid to the outer surface. The impervious surfaces 140 and 260 may
be heat sealed or fastened by way of adhesives to a core or to a
core wrapped in a pervious surface cover. The impervious surfaces
140 and 260 may comprise any thin, flexible, body fluid impermeable
material such as, a polymeric film, for example, polyethylene,
polypropylene, cellophane or even a normally fluid pervious
material that has been treated to be impervious, such as
impregnated fluid repellent paper or nonwoven fabric material.
The preferred winged configurations of FIGS. 1 and 2 include flaps
10 and 119 which extend laterally from each of the longitudinal
sides 25 and 125 of the absorbent elements 6 and 106. Although
preferably not including absorbent pulp materials, these flaps 10
and 119 can include a body fluid impervious backing such as the
materials described in connection with the above-mentioned body
fluid impervious surfaces 140 and 260. It is also expected that the
flaps 10 and 119 can comprise body fluid pervious covers, much like
the above-mentioned body fluid pervious layers 130 and 250, and
absorbent tissues disposed between their covers and their backings.
In addition, it is preferred that the flaps 10 and 119 of this
invention contain absorbent tissue with sufficient capillary action
to retain small quantities of escaped liquid. This tissue can be
heat sealed or adhesively sealed around the edges of the flaps 10
and 119 with the preferred impervious backings and body fluid
pervious covers of the flaps 10 and 119 to form absorbing
areas.
Also included with this invention are attachment adhesive elements
20 which can be made of any known pressure-sensitive adhesive
material. As used herein, the term "pressure-sensitive" refers to
any releasable adhesive or releasable tenacious means. Adhesive
compositions suitable for sanitary napkins, include, for example,
the water-based pressure-sensitive adhesives such as acrylate
adhesives. Alternatively, the adhesive may comprise rapid setting
thermoplastic "hot melt", rubber adhesives or two-sided adhesive
tape. As is customary in the art, a coated paper release strip 21
can be applied to protect any of the adhesive elements, such as
strips 20, prior to use.
Referring now to FIG. 6, a sanitary napkin embodiment 600 is
illustrated having longitudinally disposed elastic means,
preferably elastic strips 61 and 62, for configuring the flap to
resist being folded by an undergarment. It is expected that the
ends of elastic strips 61 and 62 would be disposed on the outer
seam area 65 with adhesive although this is not a requirement.
preferably the flaps are configured by the elastic means so that
they present a concave configuration on their undergarment-facing
side. This preferred configuration will provide greater resistance
to buckling when the panty is raised by the wearer. Since the flaps
remain extended in this configuration, they can easily extend out
of the peritoneal region and thus cover the sides of the crotch
portion of an undergarment to minimize failure.
From the foregoing it can be realized that this invention provides
an improved sanitary napkin having an elastic member for providing
a greater convex shape to body-facing portion of the napkin and/or
for enabling adhesive-free placement of the flaps of a winged
sanitary napkin. The elastic elements disclosed can also allow the
wings to stretch and flex with the panty crotch, keeping the wings
in place for better protection. The napkins of this invention are
easier to remove after use, since the additional task of separating
the adhesive on the flaps from the panty is eliminated.
Although various embodiment have been illustrated, this was for the
purpose of describing, but not limiting the invention. Various
modifications, which will become apparent to one skilled in the
art, are within the scope of this invention described in the
attached claims.
* * * * *